April, 2006 | HD TV PROFESSOR

Month: April 2006

The End of PIP?

April 14, 2006 | Author: Ibex Marketing

I just realized something strange. I used to use PIP -- picture in picture -- all the time. Now, I almost never use it. I started wondering what made the difference, and it hit me; we bought a DVR, a digital video recorder. The subscription-based TiVo has defined the market, but we use a no-fee unit that has a hard drive and a DVD-writer for archiving. So why did a...

IPTV for Free

April 13, 2006 | Author: Ibex Marketing

ABC made headlines when the company started selling popular TV show episodes on iTunes. Now they will be offering the same episodes for free on the ABC.com Web site, as part of a two-month trial. Like the iTunes offerings, the shows will be available the day after they air on broadcast. Unlike the iTunes versions -- which are commercial-free -- the free episodes will include advertising that cannot be skipped...

LCD Market Consolidates

April 12, 2006 | Author: Ibex Marketing

We've now seen 30-inch LCD HDTV models advertised for under $1,000. One big reason for the lower prices for LCD HDTVs is competition. The market is slowly changing, however, and we've recently seen a number of interesting announcements. None are really earth-shaking on their own, but they add up. For example, Sony will be buying some LCD panels from the Taiwan manufacturers. Even more notable is that Sharp -- the...

An Ounce of HDTV Protection

April 11, 2006 | Author: Ibex Marketing

When people are putting together their budget for a new HDTV, they include the TV, naturally. As I point out in my book, they should also include the price of cables. If you're using an analog connection -- such as composite, S-video, or component connections -- you will want to buy good quality cables from the outset as the quality really can make a noticeable difference. For digital connections --...

New HDTVs from Mitsubishi

April 10, 2006 | Author: Ibex Marketing

On Friday, Mitsubishi announced a new line of HDTVs. These include 1080p DLP rear-projection TVs in 57- and 65-inch sizes that have with a six-color wheel that increases color response. New 52- and 62-inch rear projection LCD TVs offer 720p in the 531 Model series. Direct view-LCD panels have 1080p resolution, and come in 37- and 46-inch sizes. And two new 1080p DLP rear projection models offer a huge 73-inch...

More Laser HDTV

April 7, 2006 | Author: Ibex Marketing

Recently, we have had more announcements about the use of lasers as light sources for rear projection HDTVs. Last month, Epson announced plans to develop one using polarized lasers and LCD imagers. And now comes word that Mitsubishi is looking to build an RPTV using lasers with a Texas Instruments DLP chip. The advantage of using lasers for these designs is that they are small yet powerful light sources, which...

HDTV from Space

April 6, 2006 | Author: Ibex Marketing

"This is Ground Control to Major Tom, we have you on screen in high definition." And thanks to an agreement between HDNet and NASA, Americans will be able to watch coverage of Space Shuttle launches and landings through 2010 in HDTV detail. HDNet is the high-definition network launched in 2001 by Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and an early proponent of HDTV broadcasts. It seems to me that...

Truth Patrol: Amazing DVD Facts!

April 5, 2006 | Author: Ibex Marketing

Source: BuyMagazine article -- The 4-1-1 on HD DVD (no author attribution) Quote: "Two new pre-recorded disc formats are coming this spring -- the HD DVD and Blu-ray -- which will be able to play conventional DVDs by trying to extract hi-def info from them." Hooboy! Let me start by saying that most of this article starts off pretty well, and explains things fairly clearly and accurately. But then the...

Brave Blu-ray Talk from Samsung

April 4, 2006 | Author: Ibex Marketing

Samsung sent out an announcement yesterday stating that the hardware for their Blu-ray high-definition DVD drives is ready for production, but they're waiting to complete "compatibility testing." They assert that the test discs will be available "in late April", and that they will launch the drive in the United States on June 25, 2006. (This was pushed back from the May 23 launch date that had been announced previously.) The...

Movies by Internet

April 3, 2006 | Author: Ibex Marketing

It is widely reported today that six major movie studios have signed up with MovieLink to provide movies for sale by download, starting on the same day that the DVD version is released. Warner, Universal, Sony, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, and MGM will offer older titles as well as first-run movies. Sony, MGM, and Lion's Gate will also sell movies through CinemaNow. The two services have different requirements and restrictions,...